Wildlife

Illicit Trade in Wildlife

Illicit trade in wildlife is a serious threat to local ecosystems and the survival of endangered and vulnerable species. In 2014, 1,215 rhinos were killed for their horns by poachers in South Africa (Department of Environmental Affairs of the Government of South Africa, 2015), and between 2010 and 2012, an estimated 100,000 elephants were killed by poachers for their ivory (Wittemyer et al., 2014). There may be as few as 3,200 wild tigers left in the world - and the illegal trade is one of the biggest threats to their survival. Between 2000 and 2013, the parts of at least 1,537 tigers were seized in Asia (WWF, 2015).

In addition to the serious environmental impact of the illicit trade in wildlife, it is a global criminal industry and one of the most lucrative forms of illicit international trade. Profits for individuals or groups related to wildlife crimes, such as trade in rhino horns, can be higher than those generated from trafficking in diamonds and cocaine (WWF, 2012).

The illicit trade in wildlife directly affects legitimate business, chiefly by contributing to reduce - at fast speed and in a non-sustainable manner - the amount of wildlife available for economic exploitation. Illicit trade in wildlife may also affect the growing wildlife-based tourism industry due to excessive poaching and natural destruction. TRAFFIC, a leading NGO working to protect wildlife globally, reported that panelists gathering in Berlin on the occasion of the world’s largest tourism fair “concurred that record poaching levels of rhinos and elephants are not only threatening the basis of tourism but also tourism-based development options in Africa” (TRAFFIC, 2014).

Wildlife trafficking is a threat to the planet’s biodiversity, economic development, and, among others, health and security, and is facilitated by high levels of corruption, which the G20 cannot tolerate.G20 Leaders' Hamburg Declaration